Where's Robbie?
by Jmags-WriterofAwesomeness
Summary: In the aftermath of Wanko's Warehouse, what if Robbie wasn't saved from the Triplet twins? What if Robbie was...kidnapped? When Robbie is taken hostage, it's up to the gang to find out where he's being held captive. And along the way they may just realize that without Robbie, things just aren't the same. Collab with KnowMyNameNotMyStory. Robbie-centered, eventual Cabbie.
1. Prologue

_So here's the mysterious project KnowMyNameNotMyStory and I have been mentioning over the past couple of months- a collaboration between two awesome Cabbie writers! Actually, this story is more Robbie-centered than anything, but there will eventually be Cabbie :). I came up with this idea after watching a rerun of Victorious after it was cancelled. After Robbie got captured by the bandits and escaped, I got to thinking—What if Robbie never was able to escape? What would happen to them? And see if you can guess where we got the title from and why we named this story after that! _

_However, both my partner and I have pretty busy lives outside of fanfiction so updates may not be very frequent. But we're so excited to be writing this story and we really hope you guys enjoy it!_

* * *

It was 12 AM on an early Saturday morning in Santa Barbara, California. The city, best known for its late-night beach parties and rocking concerts on the pier, was awake with activity despite the early morning hours. High school and college students, hyped up on caffeine and occasionally high amounts of alcohol in their systems, hopped from one activity to the next, high on the prospect of fitting the most amount of fun into just a few hours of the day—or night, depending on your perspective.

However, the city was slightly less abound with people itching to have a good time this morning because a huge event was going on in the middle of town. Wanko's Warehouse, a popular store infamous for its wide variety of products and great deals and bargains, was having a huge sale on all of its products. In this economy, 80% off of everything was practically unheard of. Stores didn't dare cut their prices that low in fear of going bankrupt, but since Wanko's was the most popular store within southern California, what had they got to lose?

The sale was such big news that people started lining up outside the store's doors as early as 7 PM, two hours before Wanko's closed for the night. Eventually, the line became so long that it was overwhelming to even look at. By the time the seven Hollywood Arts teenagers arrived at the scene, antsy after driving an hour and a half in heavy traffic, the line was already wrapped around the corner of the building and extended half a mile down the street.

The clever one of the group, Jade West, suggested that they all hide out in the warehouse overnight until the sale started. It was a pretty good idea at first—until the security system was turned on, that is. In order to override the system, the gang sent out the brightest (and flattest) out of all them to slide underneath the red laser beams locking them inside the aisle like they were trapped in a cage and turn off the alarm.

After crashing into a shelf full of Pearphones, Robbie Shapiro dusted himself off and weaved through the halls of Wanko's Warehouse, attempting to find the manager's office where the control panel was most likely located. He winced, pressing lightly on his thigh where the walkie talkie that Tori had thrown at him had hit. There was no doubt that there would be a bruise in that very same spot when he woke up the next morning. He muttered under his breath in frustration, still mad at how everyone had put down his walkie talkies earlier, until he came across a big room which he was sure was the control site of the warehouse.

He smiled in satisfaction, but came to a sudden stop when he saw a labyrinth of laser beams in front of him. His smile faltered and he reverted to secret-spy mode as he pulled out his handy-dandy walkie talkie. "Shapiro to base."

"Robbie, would you please just use your first name and stop calling me base?" Tori Vega pleaded from the speaker.

"No! Base," Robbie insisted. Just in case this didn't happen to him ever again, he wanted to keep up the secret-spy gig as much as possible.

He scanned the room briefly. "Okay, I'm just outside the security area, and I can see the control panel on the wall along with a partially eaten Fat Cake on a desk."

He heard Andre moan in the background, still suffering from his bout of claustrophobia. "Just turn off the alarm!" Tori ordered him.

"On it."

Robbie crouched down and swung his arm back gently a few times before sliding the walkie talkie underneath the beams. He then turned around and lied on his back, using his heels to propel him below the beams. He winced as his knees almost grazed one of the beams, but he kept going and scrambled to his feet as soon as he had cleared them. "Alright, I've reached the alarm panel."

"Then go turn off the laser beams!"

Robbie sighed, a little offended by Tori's impatient tone. "Go turn off the laser beams," he mimicked her in a squeaky voice, rolling his eyes and sauntering towards the panel. His eyes widened as the huge electronic screen on the wall filled his vision. "Wow. This is quite the panel," he commented, impressed.

He pressed the START button on the screen and a bunch of settings popped up. "Ah, the lighting controls. This is cool!"

He started playing around with the lights in the warehouse, feeling like he was a kid in a candy store. The lights followed his every command and he made some bizarre sci-fi noise as he manipulated the lights, clearly enjoying himself—so much that he didn't see the two figures dressed in black approach him from behind. "Well, well, well," one of the guys said.

"What have we got here?" the other guy, a little shorter than the other bandit, finished for him.

Hearing the voices, Robbie stopped playing with the control panel and turned around. "Oh. Hey fellas," he greeted them awkwardly, walking towards them.

"Hey," the tall guy said, a sly smile creeping up on his face, making Robbie slightly nervous.

"Yeah. Hey," the short guy said, imitating the other bandit's actions.

"So…What are you guys doing here?"

The tall guy stared him down. "We're fixing to rob this store."

"Oh." Robbie laughed, still uncomfortable, but quickly realized what he was getting himself into. "_Oh."_ His voice deepened and his heart rate accelerated. He strode past them to the other counter, trying to calm himself down. "So, you guys are like…_thieves_."

"Uh huh," the short guy grunted.

"And now…" The tall guy gestured over to an area slightly to the left of the control panel. "You are going to walk right over there for us and open that there safe."

"Me? Why?"

The short bandit chuckled. "So we's can get the money out of it, smartie!"

"But wait, why do you think I'd be able to open Wanko's safe?" Robbie asked them.

"You work here, right?"

Robbie stared at the tall bandit in confusion, taking little notice that the two bandits looked alike—almost exactly alike, in fact. "What makes you think I work here?"

"You calling me a liar?" the tall guy demanded, taking an intimidating step towards Robbie.

"No, no, I'd never!" Robbie stuttered. "Listen, I'm just here with my friends. We're just here for the night so we can be here early for the big sale tomorrow."

He pointed behind him to the control panel. "I just need to turn off the alarm so my friends and I can leave."

"Oh…" The two bandits glanced at each other knowingly. "Well there's one problem with that, buddy: we can't let you leave."

"Nope. Not now."

Robbie started to tremble in place. "W-w-why can't you let me leave?"

"Because you know we're burglars."

"You've seen our faces. If we let you leave, you may go to the po-lice."

"And get us arrested."

"Oh god no, I would never do that. Uh-uh," Robbie shook his head vigorously.

"Well you know our names."

"No I don't, and please don't tell me!" Robbie covered his ears.

"My name is Barry Triplet. And this is my twin brother Barney."

"I said don't tell me your-" Robbie paused, thinking. "Wait… your last names are Triplet?"

"Yeah."

"Uh huh."

"And you're twins?"

"Uh huh."

"So you're the Triplet twins."

"Yeah." Barry nodded, getting impatient.

"That doesn't make sense." Robbie furrowed his eyebrows.

"_Now_ you calling me a liar?" the shorter twin said angrily, cracking his knuckles and taking a step closer to Robbie.

"No, of course not!" Robbie cowered in fear. Taking a step back, he was stopped by the counter behind him, keeping him from going any further away from the bandits. The walkie-talkie that he placed next to the Fat Cake fell off the counter, making a thud.

The taller brother bent down to pick up the device and examined it as if it were a rare species. "What's this?"

"Oh!" Seeing the curiosity in his walkie talkies that his friends had lacked, Robbie pepped up. "That's a walkie talkie."

"A what-y what-y?"

"Walkie talkie." Robbie grabbed the device from his hands. "They come in pairs so you give one to someone and you keep the other. You can talk AND walk within 600 yards from each other. Just push the talk button to speak, the call button to page them, and right over here…" He pointed at the side of the device. "is the volume controls. My friends don't think they're cool but I do."

"Wow, that's neat." The tall guy looked at the little black device in awe.

"Real neat."

"You know a lot about them techie stuff, nerd."

"Yeah, I guess so." Robbie nodded.

"So why don't you show us how this here control panel works." The shorter guy gestured over to the big screen.

Reassured of his techie expertise, Robbie nonchalantly trotted over to the control panel, explaining every lever and switch and demonstrating the lights once more to the brothers.

* * *

Eventually, the twins stopped playing nice with Robbie and forced him over to safe. Robbie gulped, feeling something prodding in between his shoulder blades, and was just about to put his hands on the lock when he and the burglars heard the alarms go off. Instantly, he froze in place in panic but secretly thanked whoever set them off so he could have a chance to escape.

"Ow, that alarm is so loud!" Barry, one of the twins, shouted, covering his ears.

"Turn it off!" Barney, the short guy, ordered Robbie.

"Why should I?" he snapped. "You guys are thieves anyway! I've helped you enough!"

He soon felt the prodding again in the same place and regretted what he had said. "You helped us with nothing, bushy. All you did was show us your stupid walkie talkies that no one cares about. Now turn off the damn alarm before something bad happens to you," Barry growled.

"But I don't know how to turn it off! I don't work here!"

At that moment, Cat, Andre, Beck, Jade, Trina, and Tori came running through the room with buckets on their heads, and Robbie saw his chance. "Hey! Guys, wait for me!" he called out to them.

He ran to join them, but his sprint wasn't fast enough. The bandits caught up to him in no time, grabbed his arms, and twisted them behind his back. "Andre, Beck, help me!" Robbie yelped, feeling the pain of the twist coursing through his arms.

"Head butt!" Andre shouted. Using the buckets on their heads, the two boys ran full force towards the bandits and knocked them to the ground. He then motioned to Robbie. "Come on, get under the bucket now and we'll make a run for it."

Robbie smiled in relief and took a few steps towards him only to be tripped by the bandits and pinned down to the ground. "Guys, I need help! Again!" he grunted.

"Hey get off of him!" Beck shouted. This time, they threw the buckets off of their heads and grasped the bandits from behind.

Unfortunately, Andre and Beck didn't have the same fighting expertise as the bandits did. Barry elbowed Beck hard in the stomach, having him land on the ground with an "Oof!" and clutching his stomach in pain. On the other side, Barney kicked Andre's shin, and as soon as Andre let go of him, he turned around and punched him in the nose.

Beck got up, stumbling a little bit, and walked over to Andre, who was cupping his heavily-bleeding nose with his hands. "Geez man, are you okay? Looked like he slugged you pretty hard."

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. How about you?"

"Never been better," Beck grunted, grimacing.

The two boys froze as they heard the click of a loaded gun behind them. "If you take one more step towards your little friend, things are going to get reeeal ugly."

Barney snickered as the teenagers turned around. Behind Barney, they saw Barry restraining a struggling Robbie with ease, pressing his arms together behind his back and covering Robbie's mouth with his hand. Their anger rose at the sight of their friend being man-handled so violently, but their fear mounted at the same right at the gun pointed at their sternums. "Dude, just let him go so we can leave. We promise we give you any more trouble," Beck reasoned calmly.

"Yeah, we won't go to the cops or anything," Andre agreed. "We just want our friend back."

Barney narrowed his eyes at them, a wry smile creeping up his face. "You really think I'm dumb enough to fall for your garbage?"

The guys widened their eyes and shook their heads furiously. Suddenly, a gunshot went off, and they saw Robbie unconscious on the floor with Barry pointing yet another gun at them. "Now get the hell outta here!"

Suddenly, a gunshot went off, and they saw Robbie unconscious on the floor. The boys gasped, not knowing if their friend had been shot or not. They were once again furious at the harm they caused on Robbie, but they knew better than to jump in the middle, seeing clearly that the odds weren't in their favor.

Barry pointed yet another gun at them. He and Barney hastily gathered up an unconscious, beaten-up Robbie off of the floor and started dragged him towards the direction the gang came running from.

"An' unless you know better, you two will let us leave and not follow us. Otherwise…" He brought his arm down and pressed the tip of the gun to Robbie's unconscious forehead. "Your friend gets it."

They exited through the back of the building. Tossing the out-cold teenager in the back of their van, the brothers drove off.

Once they were out of sight, Beck and Andre let go of the breath they were both holding back.

"Man, what are we going to do?" Andre panicked.

"We're going to go back to your van, get everyone to safety, and then tell everyone what happened once we get back to Tori's house," Beck told him, the plan forming in his head as he spoke. "No reason telling them here and making them even more scared than they already are.

And then…" Beck picked something off the floor and wiggled it in front of Andre with a defiant glint in his eyes. "We're going to find Robbie."

* * *

_So since KnowMyNameNotMyStory is posting this on her account as well, just wanted to mention something that alarmed me greatly... For the first time ever, I got no reviews on a chapter of a story. NONE. Even when I first joined this site that didn't happen. And it seems like the only way I can get reviews nowadays is if I plead for them. i don't know if this is happening because the show was cancelled or not, but it made me really disappointed. And trust me, I don't want to beg for reviews because that's just really pathetic. The story is called Geek Charming if you want to look at it and it IS an AU Cabbie story. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 1

Shortly after Robbie was kidnapped, Beck and Andre, still tending to their injuries, stumbled their way back to the gang's SUV and jumped inside. The girls, fidgeting in the back seat and worrying about getting caught, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the two boys. However, they became worried once they saw that Beck and Andre were hurt and that Robbie wasn't with them.

"Guys, what happened?" Jade asked as Andre started the car.

"And where's Robbie?" Cat added, leaning forward expectantly.

"We gotta get out of here, quick," Beck said from the passenger's seat.

"We'll explain everything later," Andre said as he backed out of the parking spot and turned out of the parking lot.

"But what about Robbie?" Cat asked again.

"Yeah, stop the car," Jade suggested.

"No, we gotta get out of here before they catch us!" Andre said.

"I don't want to go to prison… again!" Trina panicked.

"What about Robbie? He's our friend, we can't just leave him there!" Tori yelled.

"GUYS! Please calm down!" Beck roared at the girls.

"Some serious chizz went down before we left and it's not safe here," Andre told them.  
"Now we're driving back to Tori's and when we get there we'll tell you everything," Beck assured everyone.

"But Robbie-"

"We'll deal with him later. Robbie would want us to get to safety before worrying about finding him, am I correct?" Beck told them, giving them a look.

The girls, realizing that he had a point, nodded their heads reluctantly. Before turning back around, Beck saw Cat look like she was about to cry. "It's ok, Cat. Robbie's a big boy," he reassured her, patting her gently on the knee. Cat smiled at him gratefully.

The atmosphere in the car eventually fell into an uncomfortable silence, then a period of worry. Beck and Andre were still buzzing with adrenaline and terror, but they knew they had to keep the girls safe and away from the town before they could make any other important decisions.

After the longest hour and a half drive of their lives, the gang pulled into the Vega's driveway. With their mouths still clamped shut, each person hurriedly undid their seatbelts and made their way to the door. Tori hastily fiddled with her keys to open the door and let her friends settle on the couch. Beck was the last to step inside. He made sure no one was outside and shut the door, locking it. Turning around, he saw four awaiting pairs of eyes staring at him.

"Ok guys, what's up?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You're creeping us out."

"And what the heck happened to Robbie and why did we have to leave him behind?"

"Alright, alright," Andre signaled the girls to halt with their questions. "We'll tell you but you gotta let us tell you exactly what happened before you ask any more questions."

"Ok, shoot," Tori replied, giving in.

Remembering what had happened earlier that night, Beck shuddered at the flashback. "Don't say that, Tor."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Sorry?"

"Can you guys just tell us already?" Jade was becoming impatient.

"So when we were running out of the warehouse, we passed by Robbie," Andre began, moving around the couches to face them so everyone could hear him better. "Now I don't know if you noticed, but he wasn't alone."

"He wasn't?" Trina questioned, propping her legs up on the coffee table.

"No, he was with two other guys," Beck said, moving to stand beside Andre.

"Sinjin and Burf?" Cat guessed.

"No, two…" Andre and Beck exchanged weary glances. "Two bandits," Andre finished.

Visible shocked expressions and a few gasps were shared between the girls. "B-bandits?" Tori repeated.

"Armed… bandits," Beck corrected her.

Cat gasped and closed her eyes, burying her face in a pillow. "I don't want to hear the rest."

"No, tell us the rest," Jade demanded. She patted Cat's back for comfort.

"Andre and I head-butted them while we had the buckets on our heads and they fell over."

"We thought we could get Robbie, but they managed to take him hostage and even shoved us. When we got up, they pointed guns at us," Andre added.

"Guns?" Trina squeaked.

"We told them that we wouldn't report them if they just gave us Robbie, but…"

"But what, Beck?!" Tori demanded.

"They knocked Robbie out and told us to leave if it was good for us. And we couldn't follow them or they would have harmed Robbie even more," he said.

"They made an escape through the back of the store and Beck and I just needed to get you girls out of there. They're dangerous." Andre shuddered in fear.

"Well we have to report this!" Tori shrieked, the full magnitude of just how intense the situation settling in.

"Yeah, they can't hurt Robbie like that and get away with it!" Cat said, on the verge of tears.

"Vega, your dad's a cop. Don't you know you can't report a 'missing person' until after at least 24 hours?" Jade informed them.

"Yeah, Jade's right. And even with that, we have nothing to tell them about the thieves. No name or anything," Beck said.

"Just two thugs dressed in black, kidnapping our friend," Andre said.

"I'm sure our dad will make this an exception since we're sort of friends with Robbie," Trina suggested. "Well, I'm obviously not but you guys are."

Beck rolled his eyes at the last part of her comment. "No, Trina. We can't go to the cops yet, even with that 24-hour rule," he shot her plan down.

"What do you mean?" Tori wondered.

"Listen, those guys are dangerous. The second they hear a siren, they'll know it's Beck and me that turned them in. Who knows what they'll do with Robbie, and if God forbid they escape, they might try and find us, maybe even all of you too," Andre told them.  
"Well what are we going to do then? Just wait?" Jade asked incredulously, her hands balling into fists.

Beck turned to Jade. "No, of course not."

Tori was confused. "But you just said-"

"Look," Andre and Beck butted in. "We're not going to the cops."

"We're going to find Robbie ourselves."

* * *

Elsewhere, a semi-conscious nerd was struggling to regain consciousness. Slowly, Robbie peered his eyes open and turned his head to the side.

"Mmm," he moaned in slight agony. Immediately his head started to throb and he felt the stings and sores where the bandits had violated him. He then felt tightness around his body. After taking a few minutes to adjust to his surroundings, Robbie realized that he was tied up in a ball in the corner of what looked like a massive computer lab in an isolated warehouse. He tried moving his hands but found that they were tied together; his feet were tied up in the same way. And on top of that, he found himself so nauseous that he couldn't bear to get out of the fetal position. He figured that he had suffered a mild concussion.

"Oh my god, where am I?" he whisper-yelled to no one in particular. Robbie frantically looked around, desperate to find some clue or hint as to his whereabouts. He peered at the glass window to look around the warehouse. The room was dark, the flickering lights from nearby monitors planted to the wall adjacent from him being his only source of light. All he really saw were old car parts here and there. Scanning around the rest of the room, he spotted something that made him even more sick to his stomach than he was. Weapons. Guns, blades, knives- anything sharp and pointy. They were everywhere. Robbie then remembered his encounter with the Triplet Twins. He realized that he must have been taken into hostage. But wait, he could have sworn Beck and Andre were trying to save him. He feared the worse as to what happened to his friends.

Thankful that he kept his phone in his front shirt pocket and that he had an unusually long neck, Robbie was able to fish his Pearphone from his pocket with his mouth. Even more thankful that the bandits didn't think to tie his arms to his legs (to prevent him from any sort of movement), Robbie managed to grab the phone from his mouth with one hand. He opened the messages app and decided to take a video. It would be faster than texting, he thought.

"This is Robbie Shapiro. I'm 17 years old, Caucasian, and half Jewish," he spoke to the Pearphone as if he had to identify himself. "I'm tied up in an abandoned warehouse and there might be two dangerous men on the loose ready to hunt me down. If this phone is found without me, well… please come find me!" he squeaked.

Suddenly, he heard the main door outside of the computer lab open and a group of men step inside the warehouse. Too scared out of his mind to make another movement and risk getting caught by the bandits, Robbie kept his video going.

"So his two buddies know you guys exist?" a tall and buff figure asked the Twins.

"Yeah. But we made sure they scrammed."

"That doesn't mean they'd call the cops, you idiots!" he spat.

"Don't worry, boss," Barry grimaced, wiping a drop of the figure's spit off of his chin. "We got the money. Ain't that the important part?"

"Yeah, we're going to restock some more of the ammunition tonight."

"And what about the kid?"

The Twins gestured toward the room Robbie was laying in. "The kid's knocked out in the lab."

_Two buddies…_"Oh my God, that was Beck and Andre." Robbie realized he was saying his thoughts out loud, not in his head. He looked back at his phone. "Scratch that. Beck! Andre! Anybody! I've been taken hostage by two bandits who tried to steal from Wanko's. They've got a lot of weapons. I'm freaking out here! Help me!"

Seconds before the door to the computer lab opened, Robbie immediately sent his video out to anyone. Seeing as in the video he mentioned a name, his Pearphone suggested that the message automatically be sent to Beck. Robbie immediately tucked the phone under his arm between his wrist and the chair.

"Well, well. Lookie what we have here," the tall man said, who Robbie assumed to be the Twins' boss.

"Who are you and why am I here?" Robbie asked.

"You're here because you know too much."

"Know too much? I have no idea who you guys are."

"You know my two idiots." With his heavily tattooed arm, the man pointed at the Twins.

"Look, I promise not to say anything if you just let me go right now, please!" Robbie begged.

"That's too easy, kid. And we don't trust you," the boss barked.

"Look, if all you want is money, I've got $327 in my savings account and it's all yours. Just let me go."

"We're not here for the money, bushy."

"Then what are y- no, I don't want to know. I want to go home!" Robbie whimpered.

"You can't go home. Not yet, son."

Robbie's heart quickened, the magnitude of the situation finally settling in. "Then when can I?"

"When we're done with our plan."

"I don't care about your plan, I just want to go home. All I wanted to do was go to the Wanko's sale with my friends," he said that day for what felt like the millionth time. Why couldn't they just understand that he wanted nothing to do with their sketchy, possibly illegal plans?

"I'm sure you care about this plan if you want your precious friends to be safe," the boss said, smirking at Robbie.

"What?" Robbie gulped.

"We're taking down the country. Every inch of it."

"Why are you taking down the country?"

"Because this government is so weak. It's an easy target. And very amusing for me."

"Wait, are you guys… terrorists?" Robbie said cautiously, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

"I guess this nerd is smart after all," the 'boss' told his goons.

"But what do you need me for? Why don't you just shoot me now and be done with it?"

"Barry told me that you are smart with the computers and techie stuff. Is that true?"

"Well, yeah…"

"We need your help hacking into the government's system."

"And what makes you think I'll do that for you?"

The boss smiled wryly and kneeled down so that he was eye-level with Robbie. "You want your friends to live?"

"Yeah but… but what makes you think I won't send a message to the government while I hack into the system?" Robbie squinted at him defiantly, his anger slowly growing.

"Because the second we hear any siren, we're going to hunt down every person you love, starting with your friends at Wanko's. Now unless you help us with this attack, you can kiss your friends and family goodbye right in front of you before we take you out."

Robbie's face lost every bit of color for a few seconds. Just the thought of seeing any of his close ones- especially his friends- suffer before his eyes made him more scared than he ever was that night.

"Ok, fine. I'll help. Just don't harm my friends."

The 'boss' smiled in satisfaction, momentarily stepping out of the room with his goons and leaving Robbie to his thoughts. He needed to warn his friends right away. He dragged his phone out from under his arms as fast as he could. Turning the screen on, he realized he had accidentally recorded the entire conversation and that the video caught every bit of the terrorists' plans. Behind him, Robbie heard footsteps echoing throughout the building, coming closer and closer to where he was tied up. Knowing they'd be back any second, he immediately attached the video to a message and sent it to the last person he had talked to in his recent contacts list: Cat.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Vega home, the gang was shocked to hear about Beck and Andre's plan.

"You want us to save Robbie?" Tori clarified.

"Yeah. I mean, we can't go to the cops," Beck reasoned.

"Didn't you guys just say they were armed and dangerous? Are you crazy?!" Trina shrieked.

"Trina's right."

"Thank you, Tori."

"But the guys are right too."

"I thought you were my sister!"

"I want to find Robbie but we don't even know where he is," Cat mentioned. "And I don't want to face the mean guys." She shuddered at the thought.

"Well if we don't find Robbie, he'll be the one in danger, Lil' Red," Andre told her.

"Look, as much as I hate to agree, but Trina is right," Jade said.

Trina smiled at her. "Thank you, Jade."

"But I have to agree with Tori too that we need to save Shapiro. For the sake of all of our consciences."

"I thought you were my friend!"

"No one likes you!" Jade bit back at her. Trina leaned back on the couch in defeat, pouting.

"Wait, but how are we going to do this? We know nothing," Tori sighed.

"Yeah, that was my other point. You genius' have a plan on how and where exactly we're supposed to go to find Robbie?" Jade asked the guys.

Just then, someone's phone beeped. Realizing that it was his, Beck apologized and fished his phone out of his jean pocket.

"Who's the text from?" Andre asked him.

Beck did a double take and grew wide-eyed, nearly dropping his phone. "Guys, it's from Robbie!"

They crowded around him to watch the video. Jade snickered in the beginning when Robbie originally intended it to be an identification video in case something happened to him. But when they got to the point when Robbie started to panic, they grew concerned.

"So they got him in a warehouse," Andre said.

"But why? They're just stealing money, right?" Tori said.

As if on cue, someone else's phone beeped.

"Whose phone is that now?" Jade asked.

"Mine!" Cat cheered as if she won the lottery. Then she bounced back into reality, remembering they were in a serious predicament. "It's from Robbie too!"

"Play the video, Lil' Red."

She played the video for everyone. The gang grew tense when the bandits admitted they were terrorists. Cat in particular gasped when Robbie suggested to the guy to _"shoot me now and be done with it."_

_"Ok, fine. I'll help. Just don't harm my friends." _

"Aw, chizz." Andre shook his head. "Robbie's in more trouble than we thought."

"Robbie's willing to keep us safe. Wouldn't you be willing to do the same?" Beck asked everyone.

The girls exchanged glances: Trina's was a look of worry, Cat's was beginning to tear up, Jade had a look of anger mixed with a little bit of fear (which she would never admit to anyone, not even herself), and Tori's was of desperation. After a moment, they nodded at Beck and Andre and Tori, deciding to speak for the group, stood up and turned to Beck.

"Ok… so where do we go from here?"

* * *

_Just a short little chapter for background information. I think you guys are really going to like what we're going to start doing in the next chapter and beyond :). Definitely something new and exciting for the both of us so stay tuned for the next update!_


	3. Chapter 2

_Sorry that took so long, everyone! We were both really busy this month and it's just going to get even busier for me because I'm starting school next week! So here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!_

_Oh, and have you heard? Dan might be producing a Victorious finale. Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw his tweets. Let's hope it's legit!_

* * *

"I thought we said we weren't going to the cops yet?"

"Well it doesn't hurt to at least try, Andre," Trina said.

"Yeah, maybe those thugs are on a wanted list or something," Tori added.

"Maybe. It's worth a try," Jade agreed.

Since Andre and Beck had no set plans moving forward, Tori insisted they try to the police once, hoping that maybe her father might recognize the thugs. So there they were, waiting at the front desk at the Los Angeles Police Department, hoping to find a lead.

"Evening folks," the officer behind the front desk greeted them unenthusiastically. It was pretty late at night and he presumed the group of teenagers in front of him were just stirring up trouble.

"Hi, I was wondering if officer David Vega was here," Tori asked politely, resting her elbows casually on the front desk.

"No, he's out right now," he said, annoyed. "And he has no time to waste on-"

"Tori, Trina! What are you kids doing out late?"

Another officer spotted the Vega girls and walked up to the front desk. "Officer Gary, thank god you're here!" Tori was relieved to see a familiar face, especially her father's partner of ten years.

"Yeah well your father's on a big case so we're staying late tonight. Hector, I'll take it from here," he told the officer at the desk. The officer was surprised to learn that Tori and Trina were David Vega's daughters. He shyly nodded and walked off in embarrassment. "You girls alright?" Gary asked them.

"Well, we kind of need your help," the younger Vega said, addressing the rest of the gang behind her. "See, our friend Robbie is missing."

"How long has he been missing?"

"A couple of hours."

"Oh. That's a bit too soon. You sure he's not just wandering around?"

"No, Robbie's not capable of wandering out and about," Jade said, snickering a little bit.

"What do you mean?"

"He's not exactly the outgoing type," Andre explained, shooting Jade a look, to which she shrugged offhandedly and rolled her eyes.

"So then how do you know he's missing?"

The teenagers exchanged glances, wondering if the officer would believe their story. "He has been kidnapped," Tori shared.

Gary's eyes widened. "Whoa. Ok. You kids need to give me more details. Come on, in my office."

He led them to the chief's office and shut the door, making sure it was sealed tightly. After everyone got comfortable sitting on a chair or leaning on a desk, they went back to their discussion.

"Now, I know we've got that 24-hour rule, but since you're David's kids and I respect the guy, I'll try to tip this before the morning," Officer Gary told them.

"Thanks, Gary," Tori said in relief, speaking on the behalf of the whole group.

"But I can't guarantee you that we will get on this case sooner. We've still got to go with policy."

"We know. We just thought that maybe you guys and us would have similar cases or leads like any kidnapping things, a list of wanted people… all that junk."

"That's confidential stuff, Tori," Gary chuckled, scratching his head through his short, graying hair.

"Yeah, but we're sort of family, right?" Trina tried to help out.

"Yes, that's why I'm writing this out early so first thing tomorrow we can do this."

"Are you sure there's nothing else you can do?" Trina slumped back in her chair.

"I'm afraid not. Look, I know you're worried about your friend, but you will have to be patient and let the police do their job. It takes time but I assure you that Robbie will return unharmed."

The gang let out a collective sigh, fearing that this would happen. "If it helps, I haven't heard of any kidnappings nor have a most wanted list of thugs yet, so maybe your friend isn't in too much danger."

"I hope not," Cat, who up until now was extremely quiet and still, said.

Gary hadn't noticed her shyness and suddenly felt sympathy for the redhead. "Alright kids, tell me what you know. Your lead may help the investigation in the future."

"Well, we were at Wanko's and these thugs were there," Tori began.

"We all got away from them, but Robbie was stuck. So Beck and Andre tried to fight the guys in order to free Robbie," Trina added.

"Andre, Beck. What happened when you tried to get Robbie?" Gary turned to the two males of the group.

"We almost freed him, but the thugs caught us off-guard by slugging us and holding up guns," Beck informed him.

"They were armed? What kind of guns?"

"Yeah, I don't really know the whole gun language," Andre apologized. "Just two handguns, sir."

"Alright." Gary wrote down some notes on a notepad. "Well it would have helped to know if they were seriously armed and dangerous, or if those were simple guns."

"Sorry sir, but we think they're dangerous," Beck told him.

"Oh yeah?" The officer folded his hands in front of him expectantly. "How?"

"We think they're up to something. And they were threatening enough just at Wanko's, intimidating us with weapons and everything, " Andre said.

"Alright so back up. Do you know if they have a plan or a prior motive while robbing the store? And what made you think they were a threat at Wanko's before pointing guns? What were you guys doing at Wan-"

_Ring ring!_

Gary checked the screen on his cell phone. "Hold on, kids, I've got to take this real quick."

The gang watched him step outside his office, not sure where to go next. They had completely forgotten that by sneaking into Wanko's ahead of time before the sale started, they were putting themselves in a sticky situation with the police as well.

"We gotta get out of here." Beck stood up.

"Why?" Tori asked, looking confused.

"Well, in case you forgot, we were trespassing at Wanko's as well!" Beck whisper-yelled.

"Oh, right," Tori said, chewing on her lip nervously.

"But what about Robbie? We didn't even tell Gary about the videos we sent. Shouldn't we tell him they're terrorists at least?" Cat suggested.

"If we do that, they'll go after them and Robbie might get hurt. Look, I know this is bad that we're hiding this, but it all just needs to happen at the right time. Trust me," Beck told everyone.

"Then why did we come here in the first place? I already said we shouldn't!" Andre protested, getting more and more confused by the minute.

"To see if these thugs are wanted," Jade said.

"So now how are we going to get out of here without sounding suspicious?" Trina wondered.

"Follow my lead. Let Tori and I do the talking," Beck said and nodded at Tori.

Everyone agreed as Gary stepped back inside. "Sorry about that, kids. We're in the middle of a case right now."

"No, it's alright. Actually we're just heading out. Thanks for your help, sir." Beck got up, gesturing for everyone to be prepared to leave.

"What about your friend? This sure seems like a serious matter, Tori."

"It is, but we really don't have anything else to share with you. We don't know much about the guys," she told him. "And we know there's not a whole lot the police can do with the limited amount of information we have about the situation."

"So there's _nothing_ else you can share?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

"Just that they're two guys dressed in black, almost six feet tall. And they were last seen in Santa Barbara," Beck informed him.

"Alright…" Officer Gary still wasn't completely convinced. "Well I'll let you kids know if we get any reports within the next 24 hours. But whatever happens, come back here tomorrow and we'll complete this report."

"Will do. Thanks, Gary," Tori said to him, shaking his hand.

"No problem. And tell your mother I said hello." He winked.

"O-kay…" Tori lingered for a moment. "Well bye!"

The kids rushed out of the building and piled into Beck's car before Gary could become any more suspicious of their hasty exit. As Beck pulled out into the street, the gang leaned back in their seats, exhausted from all the worrying they had done that night. "Well that was a waste of precious time where we could have been out looking for Shapiro."

"It wasn't that much of a waste, Jade. We went to see if those guys were on a wanted list and apparently they're not, so they might not be as dangerous as we thought," Tori argued.

"Or they might be so good that they haven't been caught yet. Either way, Robbie's still out there and we're still here," Jade retorted.

"Look, we tried and failed. Now's not the time to argue. We just have to come up with a new lead," Andre told the bickering girls.

"Like what, Andre? You and Beck have nothing. These videos are nothing. What next?" Jade spat.

"Why don't we try to video-chat Robbie too?" Trina suggested.

"You can't. Robbie dropped his phone three stories so it's busted," Cat told her, looking down at her fidgeting hands in her lap.

"Then how was he able to send the video messages?" Beck wondered.

"His phone is only able to send stuff. I tried calling him last night and he messaged me on the Slap telling me he wasn't getting incoming calls or texts," the redhead informed them.

"Well there goes another thing. You geniuses have any other leads?" Jade asked.

Andre and Beck shrugged. "I guess not," Andre scoffed.

"Great. This is just great," Jade crossed her arms with a frustrated look upon her face.

Andre buried face in his hands and Beck dug his hands in his pocket, ashamed to disappoint the girls. That was when Beck realized something. "Wait. I might have a lead."

Andre looked up. "What do you mean?"

Beck dug something out of his pocket and placed it on the coffee table.

"An earpiece? How is this going to help us?" Cat asked.

"When one of the thugs knocked the wind out of me, I was rough-handling him before. So this must have fallen off and he didn't know. They weren't exactly the brightest thieves."

"No they were not," Andre chuckled in agreement. "But they were scary as chizz."

"I think we've established they're stupid and scary now," Jade said impatiently.

"So what are we supposed to do with an earpiece?" Tori asked, picking it up and examining it.

"Look at it closely," Beck said.

"It says 'Ear-Com Technologies. Product of Sky Store Inc.,'" Tori read aloud.

"Oooh, Sky Store! I haven't bought anything from there in a year." Cat suddenly turned giddy.

"Well what about the Sky Store?" Trina asked.

"We can go to the headquarters and see if we can ask them or hack into their files to see who has purchased ear pieces," Andre guessed.

"Exactly." Beck high-fived him.

"Right, because they'll let anyone do that," Tori said sarcastically.

"I hate to say this, but Vega's right."

"Hear us out. We'll go to the headquarters and ask. If that doesn't work, we've got Jade," Beck said.

"He's got a point." Jade had a change of heart and smirked, already devising the outline of a plan in her head.

"Ok so where's the Sky Store Headquarters?" Tori asked.

"Let me check. Tori, where's my phone?" Trina ordered.

Tori glared at her before Cat responded instead. "No need, I've got a magazine in my bag." She nonchalantly pulled a catalog out of her purse.

"Cat," Andre said.

"Yeah?" she perkily answered.

"Why do you have the latest catalog in your purse?" Jade asked.

"Uhh…."

"Have you been buying from the store again?" Tori raised an eyebrow.

"No, I swear! But it's still taking me some time to say goodbye to it," she defended.

"It has been a year," Beck said.

"Everyone heals differently!" She dramatically raised a hand to his face.

"Anyways, can you check where the headquarters is for us please?" Andre asked her.

"Let's see…" She flipped to the back cover. "Oh, it's in Santa Barbara!"

"Then maybe that warehouse is near Wanko's since it seems to be close," Andre reasoned.

"You think maybe we should go back there?" Jade questioned.

"Don't you think if they know that others have seen them, me and Beck, that they'd try to go elsewhere?"

"Well it's worth a shot." Beck shrugged.

"Yeah, besides they'd have to take time figuring out where to go, pack up their stuff and leave to a new headquarters if they're terrorists."

"Yeah and…"

As the others discussed the options for moving forward, Cat paid no attention. She picked up the ear piece on the table and as if it were a time machine of it's own, it brought her back to another place.

_*Flashback*_

_"Why are we here again, Robbie?" Cat whined. "I thought the point of leaving was to not come back?"_

_ Robbie sighed, stopping in front of his Mamaw's apartment door. He had felt bad leaving his grandmother in there, flustered without the internet. Plus he needed Cat to see that his grandmother didn't hate her. She was just a little rough around the edges when it came to communicating with teenagers. "I just know I'll feel guilty if we go off baby golfing knowing my Mamaw is confused and upset. This will be one second and I promise I'll fix things."_

_ "But I already told you, she hates me! Let's go now and you can apologize to her when I'm not here."_

_ Cat tugged on his hand, but Robbie held her back. "No! You two will make nice as well. Now stay. Like I said, this won't take long at all."_

_ Robbie knocked on the door and it opened almost immediately. "Oh, again?!" Robbie's grandmother exclaimed, wearing a look of disgust. "I'm going to call Brenda."_

_ He groaned. "No, don't. Mamaw, why are you being so mean to Cat? She never did anything to you!"_

_ "Well she said herself that she doesn't like her mom and that she has psychological problems! Not to mention when you were fixing the Internet, she said she hates and picks on old people."_

_ Rolling his eyes, Robbie turned to Cat. "Cat, did you really say that to my Mamaw?" he asked, knowing that Cat would deny it. Besides, he couldn't imagine Cat saying that to anyone, especially his grandmother._

_ "No! I said I hate when people are rude and pick on old people. I swear, Robbie!" Cat protested, pouting slightly._

_ "Then why did-" Robbie then had a thought. "Mamaw, did you forget to change the battery on your hearing aid?"_

_ "Change the battery in what?" she wondered._

_ Robbie gestured for his Mamaw to take the earpiece off. He replaced it with new batteries (which he kept in his backpack just in case this sort of thing ever occurred) and put it back on her ear. "There, can you hear better now?"_

_ "Oh why thanks, dear. I've been getting cut out ever since you came over last night." His grandmother patted him on the shoulder._

_ "See, Cat. My Mamaw just didn't hear you right," Robbie reassured her. "Mamaw, Cat doesn't hate old people and she loves her mom and is sane… for the most part."_

_ "Well, I guess." His Mamaw scowled. "Sorry dear, I'm just getting old," she sighed. "Maury, did you remember to take the chicken out of the oven?!" she yelled, going back to her daily routine._

_ Seeing that his grandmother had already forgotten they were there, Robbie and Cat walked away slowly until they got to the elevator. "Well, now that that's settled, how about some baby golf?" Robbie said, smiling._

_"KK! But can I ask a question?"_

_ "Sure, Cat. What is it?"_

_ "Why doesn't your Mamaw just get a new hearing aid?"_

_ "I've been trying to convince her to buy a new one, but she insists on using her old one until it completely gives out," he explained as the elevator stopped and they walked out of the apartment building. "I even found a really good one on Sky Store."_

_ "What's Sky Store?" Cat wondered._

_ "Oh, just an online store that gives out great bargains on unique products…" he said before closing the door._

_*End Flashback*_

"Cat?"

"Hey Cat."

"Kitty Cat."

"Lil' Red?"

"CAAAAT!" someone screamed in her ear.

"What-y?" She brought her attention to Jade.

"You alright? You stared into space just now," her Goth best friend asked.

She looked up at her friends, then at Beck and Andre. Her fragility began to show as she slouched, her bottom lip quivering. "Beck, Andre."

"What's up, Lil' Red?"

"Are we going to find Robbie?" she mumbled.

The guys exchanged unsure looks.

"We're going to do the best we can, Cat." Beck placed a hand on her head and ruffled the top of her hair.

"So I guess, off to Santa Barbara again?" Tori assumed.

"Let's go."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the warehouse, Robbie was stuck in a predicament of his own.

"Alright, listen nerd-"

"Robbie."

"What?"

"Who's Robbie?"

"My name's Robbie."

"I'm Barry."

"And I'm Barney. I thought you knew that, kid."

"Yeah but I prefer you call me by my first name and not nerd or kid," Robbie said, annoyed at the thugs' stupidity but still scared out of his wits at the same time.

"Ok, fine," Barney said, equally as annoyed with the kid with the bushy hair. "Listen, Rob-bee. Our boss wants you to hack into this system but we just can't seem to get past this here firewall."

"Well, it's government official, I'm not surprised it has a very secure protection."

"I don't know what you said, but it's protected real good," Barney said.

"Real well," Robbie corrected him.

"That's what I said, kid." He glared at the nerd.

"You mean, Rob-" The other twin clenched his fists and stepped closer, making Robbie squeak in fear. "Shutting up."

"Look, get through the firewall before morning so we can get out of here. And don't try to pull any funny business, nerd. The second we hear sirens, it's adios to you and your friends, amiga."

"Don't you mean amigo?"

"Isn't that what I said?" Barry sneered.

"No, you said amiga, implying the feminine conjugation of the word friend in Spanish."

"You know, for a smart kid, you really need to know when to shut up." Barry poked his chest.

Since Robbie wasn't the most buff guy, the simple poke hurt him. "Ow. Yes, sir."

"Now get to work." He turned to his brother. "Hey Barney, boss has been calling you for the past five minutes. Go to him."

"Sorry, Barry. I lost my ear piece."

"You're so clumsy, man. Well go to him. I'll watch the nerd."

Barney walked out of the room while Barry plopped down on a chair, reading the newspaper and trying to understand the fine print. Knowing that he would get in trouble for not doing to task given to him, Robbie gulped and tried hacking into the firewall, struggling with the electronic barriers and with decoding all of the passwords needed to break down the said barriers. After an hour or so, with no Barney in sight (losing his earpiece probably earned Barney the typical punishment of cleaning the urinals before he went to bed), Barry's eyes slowly shut and he eventually dropped the newspaper in his lap, the sound of his loud snoring echoing throughout the big room. Robbie figured this was a good chance to send another video message.

Making sure that Barry was completely out, he took out his phone and started recording another video.

"Hey guys, so I hope you got my first few videos. And if you were trying to reach me, I kind of dropped it about three stories the other day. Cat knows, just ask her. Anyways…"

* * *

_So since I haven't updated any of my stories for a while (and there are a couple of reasons for that), I think this is the appropriate time to make an announcement: I'm taking a break from fanfiction. I don't know how long it will last- could be days, weeks, months, or even forever. Since Victorious ended six months ago, my attraction to the show and characters has been slowly dwindling to the point where the old material from the episodes is making me lose motivation to write. It's just not...new. Doesn't give me any new, crazy ideas for stories and plot lines. I just haven't felt motivated to write lately. Mostly it's because of summer laziness. No surprise there- I'm sort of brain-dead right now lol. But also because... *drum roll* I'm going to college in five days! And all the worrying and excitement has been keeping me nice and blocked/preoccupied. And I'm sure once I actually get the college, the distractions will just get even worse. In other words...if there is no Victorious finale and college keeps me busy enough...I may not be coming back. And I would hate to do that and leave all my stories unfinished, especially Following the Stars because that is my most popular story ever with almost 100 followers following it and I don't want to let them down! If I update one of my stories, then that's a good sign. But if you see an author's note...be prepared for a sad farewell. :(_

_I'll still write this collab, of course, because my partner is awesome and we make a great team! I may update Geek Charming from time to time too because basing the story off of the movie makes the writing process easier. But as for Following the Stars and my original one shots...I have no idea. My creative juices have run out for the time being :/._

_So sorry for the depressing announcement! But no fear- the show must go on! Please review :)_


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